Gametophore

/ɡəˈmiːtəfɔr/ noun

Definition

In botany, the part of a plant that bears the gametophyte or produces reproductive spores.

Etymology

From Greek 'gamete' (spouse/reproductive unit) and 'phore' (bearer/carrier); coined in botanical terminology to describe structures that support reproductive phases in plant life cycles.

Kelly Says

Plants have this weird double life—alternating between two totally different body forms—and gametophore is the fancy botanical name for the structure that carries one phase of this cycle, which mosses and ferns do all the time.

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